66 Rules for Business and Life

The following 66 rules about business was published by Paul Breen, so he deserves all the credit.
While he says that these are important rules of business, I believe that most, if not all, have a place in life as well.

1.       There is no substitute for hard work. EVER. Luck always seems to follow the hardest workers.
2.       What people say about you (good or bad) is none of your business.
3.       Most obstacles can be overcome. Some via a frontal assault, some with stealth and some with patience.
The trick is to find the weak point and bash away until it topples over.
4.       Be positive. It’s rarely as bad as you think.
5.       Listen to the “experts” but trust your gut and make your own decisions.
6.       The most important thing is how good your product is. Everything else ranks behind that.
7.       Trust is not an “easy” commodity – it takes a long time to earn it and a momentary lapse to lose it.
8.       Business is a long game so be fair and ethical with all your business dealings.
9.       Customers are “king” and need to be treated as a precious resource.
10.    Meeting deadlines is as important as anything else in business.
11.    Business is mostly common sense. The same can’t be said of human beings.
12.    Network 24/7/365 – you can never know enough people.
13.    Never burn bridges – the business community is too small and inter-connected.
14.    Don’t believe crap like “my word is my bond” – get it in writing.
15.    Never work for free – it won’t be valued and it won’t feed your family.
16.    Make sure bad news travels fast. Then fix the problem quickly.
17.    Be the best at one thing - not average at many.
18.    Scale only occurs when a business is built on rock-solid foundations.
19.    Nobody owes you anything. So don’t sulk. Instead, figure out how to get what you want.
20.    The world is uncertain so decisions will always need to be made with less than full information.
21.    Slow down. Get it right the first time. Then move on to the next important thing.
22.    Sacred cows are bad for business; so is the status quo.
23.    Change is inevitable so get used to it.
24.    Theory is nice. But hard experience is better.
25.    Meetings should be short and achieve something worthwhile.
26.    Don’t confuse what is urgent with what is important.
27.    If you don’t know what to do, ask for help.
28.    “Just be better than you were yesterday” is a great organisational strategy.
29.    The worst case scenario rarely happens but you should prepare for it anyway.
30.    Invest sensibly based on a good understanding of the risk but never punt.
31.    Don’t outsource anything valuable or that you care about.
32.    Hustle. If you’re not talking to your customers regularly there’s a good chance someone else is.
33.    Hire well and slowly but fire fast.
34.    Be nice.
35.    Don’t employ yes-men, narcissists, lazy-types or fence-sitters. Employ people that will argue with you
and challenge you to be better and do better.
36.    Achieving success is hard. Bloody hard. But it is worth it.
37.    Talk is cheap. Make it crystal clear what you will AND won’t do. Then do it!
38.    It’s not about being right; it’s about making progress.
39.    Spend every dollar as if it was your last.
40.    Sweat the small stuff (before it becomes the big stuff).
41.    Don’t lie EVER.
42.    Only do things that you’d be proud to tell your family about.
43.    Ideas are cheap. Execution is everything.
44.    Pay everyone on time every time.
45.    Make no apologies for expecting your debtors to pay on time.
46.    Getting press coverage is easy but most of it isn’t worth the effort.
47.    Just be yourself. If you’re different at work than at a BBQ you’re faking it.
48.    Mistakes are ok. Just don’t make the same ones twice.
49.    Stay young even when the years start mounting up.
50.    Laugh. Smile. Tell funny jokes and stories. Be the happiest person at work.
51.    Ask the dumb questions to avoid making the dumb mistakes.
52.    Conflict is inevitable but it must lead to reconciliation.
53.    Set a great personal example and never be afraid to get your hands dirty.
54.    If you think you are important or have “made it” – you’re wrong.
55.    People lie on their CVs.
56.    Not everything is worth learning.
57.    People only change when THEY want to.
58.    The ability to influence others is a key requirement to be successful.
59.    It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be really good.
60.    Pick up the phone if you want to talk to the Prime Minister or Warren Buffett. They might answer.
61.    Always think strategically. The future is coming. Be prepared for it.
62.    Be able to say “you can count on me” and mean it because it is true.
63.    Do the right thing because it is the right thing.
64.    Add more value than you’re using up, or in other words give more than you take
65.    Never give up.